La Luz de Jesus and Soap Plant/Wacko presents their third annual Feral House – Process Media Winter Solstice Celebration featuring Maja D’Aoust and Adam Parfry, co-authors of “Secret Source: The Law of Attraction and its Hermetic Influence Throughout the Ages,” Jodi Wille who just completed her amazing “Source Family” documentary, Martin Olson author of “The Encyclopedia of Hell,” famed illustrator/cartoonist Tony Millionaire, Erik Knutzen author of “Urban Homestead,” Sean Tejaratchi of “Craphound” fame, Mel Gordon will be showing a clip from a ’30s film on black sex magic and Eban Schletter who will fill the gallery with the sounds of his Theremin and sign his Christmas CD.

The event will spotlight several titles from the publisher’s catalog including the limited edition “Propaganda and Holy Writ of The Process Church of The Final Judgment,” the brand new True Crime book about felon vandals titled “Graffiti Underworld” and the decade in-the-works “Ritual America.”

“Ritual America” is clearly the first comprehensive American treatment of the examination of the secrets subtly stored away for those who are on the inside and those looking in from the outside…. It is created to challenge every fiber of your critical thinking and wonder.”
-Loren Coleman

In addition to the Feral House and Process Media titles – copies of Tony Millionaire’s new release, “500 Portraits” will be available for signing by the artist.

“…[Process Media’s] books on supposed ‘fringe’ type characters are in fact memoirs of the true innovators-those truly bound for the stratosphere without commercial concerns.”
-Plastic Crimewave

“I rank Feral House, a small press with a taste for the outrageous, among the most valuable in America.”
-Richard Kostelanetz, Rain Taxi

Zombie expert Matt Mogk, founder and head of the Zombie Research Society, busts popular myths and answers all your raging questions about the living dead with a lecture, slide show & other paraphernalia on zombie 101.

Q. How can I increase my chances of survival? A. One simple step is to keep away from other people. Without people there can be no zombies. Q. What is the connection between the Voodoo zombie and the flesh-eating zombie of popular culture? A. Other than a shared name, absolutely nothing. Q. Will zombies actually eat me, or will they just bite and chew? A. Research suggests the neuromuscular activity required for swallowing may be too complex for a zombie. Q. Will we see any warning signs before the dead rise? A. Unfortunately, entire populations could be infected with the zombie sickness before anyone even knows there’s a problem. Q. How come Zombie Awareness Month is in May and not October? A. Unlike witches and vampires, zombies are not otherworldly creatures. They are made of flesh and blood. Don’t forget to wear your gray ribbon. * Many more questions about zombies-including why not all of them are undead-are answered inside the book, published by Simon and Schuster

When I found out that Los Angeles punk rock legend and personal friend, Alice Bag was about to release her first book, “Violence Girl,” through Feral House, I asked her if she would be interested in doing a double book signing event at La Luz de Jesus Gallery with photographer and friend Dawn Wirth who had just self published “The Bags – Hollywood Forever“ with previously unseen photos of Alice’s group taken in 1978. I had suggested to Alice that I’d love to play bass with her if she were to perform some songs. The night before the event, we rehearsed three songs along withLysa Flores.

A crowd of people showed up to see Alice, filling the gallery spaces and part of the store. After the reading and performance, a long line formed for the book signing portion of the event. Alice and Dawn kept busy for two hours signing books and chatting with fans.

Alice was a trailblazer in the early punk era and her experiences growing up in East Los Angeles, being woman in the Los Angeles punk scene, and her life after as an activist, mother and teacher are documented in her book which actually started off as a blog, Diary of A Bad Housewife. Alice’s contact with friends and fans via her blog inspired her to write this book which is not only an interesting read for fans of the early Los Angeles punk scene, but a powerful and empowering read for young people, women and Hispanics no matter what music of choice!

Here’s some video of the event – shot by my girlfriend Samantha on an iPod Touch. It was a honor to play with Alice!

“Niceness In The ’90s: An Indie Music Memoir” by Jim Miller will be released by Pleasant Peasant LLC publishing on March 23, 2011. La Luz De Jesus will host a book release event March 19th. Jim Miller will be available to sign books and answer questions. Anyone mentioned in the book by name that comes to La Luz that night will receive a complimentary copy of the book. Event is free and open to the public.

At its core, “Niceness In The ’90s,” is a behind the scenes, club level look at the rise and fall of the music phenomenon known as grunge. This very personal memoir chronicles the life of a touring guitarist and songwriter during the late eighties and early nineties. Although the book spans the years 1985 to 1996, most of the action takes place during the years 1989 through 1992.

Fellow musicians and L.A. denizens come to life in chapters with largely self-explanatory titles like Jane’s Heroin Addiction (detailing how Perry Farrell formed Jane’s Addiction and who Jane is); L7 Hole Tad Nirvana (recounting how those bands were perceived at the time); Rock For Choice; Kurt and Courtney. “Anyone interested in the early days of grunge music should find this book a quick read, chock full of grunge action,” Miller explains. He adds “2011 marks the twentieth anniversary of the release of Nirvana’s Nevermind. It’s a good time for older hipsters to look back and for younger hipsters to discover what all the fuss was about.”

Jim Miller was born in Chicago, IL on August 9th, 1960. He was raised just six blocks from White Sox Park on the city’s South Side. He was a touring guitarist and songwriter in the Los Angeles bands Black Angel’s Death Song and Trash Can School in the early to mid nineties. In the latter half of that decade he was a band manager and a promoter for the legendary downtown L.A. dive, Al’s Bar. Jim currently lives with his guitars (which he still loves very much) in Atwater Village, CA.

‘Henry & Glenn Forever,” a comic book by the Los Angeles art fraternity Igloo Tornado that finally answers the question, “what if Henry Rollins and Glenn Danzig were a little more than ‘friends?’” has become a cult phenomenon in the comics and music scene since its release in April. Now, Igloo Tornado members Tom Neely, Gin Stevens, Scot Nobles and Levon Jihanian have put the question to more than a dozen other artists, who will offer their own answers in a group show opening Feb. 18 at La Luz de Jesus Gallery in Hollywood. Participants include critically acclaimed L.A.-based artist Eric Yahnker, low-brow superstars Coop and Clayton Brothers, and alternative cartoonists Ed Luce, Johnny Ryan and Kaz as part of a diverse group of artists, cartoonists and oddballs.

The Igloo Tornado will also debut their own new Henry & Glenn-themed works in the show and be on hand at the opening to sign copies of Henry & Glenn Forever. The Misfits cover band GLENN will perform live.

Henry & Glenn Forever has sold more than 30,000 copies since its release by the Microcosm imprint Cantankerous Titles less than a year ago. What started as a joke scrawled on a bar napkin has become a bona fide hit, spawning dozens of print and online write-ups from outlets including Spin, National Public Radio, MTV, LA Weekly, Decibel, Maximum Rock’n’roll and Razorcake. While the comic book has reportedly inspired outrage from singer Glen

n Danzig and indifference from former Black Flag frontman Henry Rollins, the lighthearted send-up of two of punk’s most macho icons has gained thousands of fans.

La Luz de Jesus presents a special double-header Valentine’s Day art-book event featuring Mark Ryden and Marion Peck signing their most recent monographs. Come early! Please note: in-store purchase ONLY will be eligible for signing so leave all your other Ryden and Peck goodies at home – there will be plenty of stuff available at La Luz de Jesus / Soap Plant / Wacko for your signing desires!

Mark Ryden’s “Snow Yak”
Traverse Mark Ryden’s vast wintry landscapes into the frigid domain of the majestic Snow Yak. Images from Ryden’s acclaimed Japanese “Snow Yak” Show are reproduced in large 11″ x 14″ format, and include many detail images and drawings. In this set of work, Ryden paints with a pallet of subtle whites and greys to create mysterious scenes of soft snow, clouds, and fur. The inhabitants of this wintry world are bare angelic figures and their companion woolly snow yaks. The works were originally shown at the prestigious Tomio Koyama Gallery in Tokyo in February 2009. This book features all of the works, as well as photographs of the work on display and of Ryden’s trip through Japan. Mark Ryden came to preeminence in the 1990s. With his masterful technique and disquieting content, he became a leader in the revitalization of painting, combining accessibility, craftsmanship and technique with socio-cultural relevance and emotional resonance. His work has been exhibited in museums and finer galleries worldwide. $28.00, Hardcover: 68 pages, published by Last Gasp; Bilingual edition, Language: English, ISBN-13: 978-0867197372, Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 14.8 x 0.6 inches.

Also available – “Snow Yak Postcard Microportfolio”

Marion Peck’s “Animal Love Summer”
Animal Love Summer is the first full monograph for painter Marion Peck. One of the leading ladies of pop surrealism, Peck populates her dreamlike paintings with strange, cute creatures. As her magical and bucolic landscapes unfold, an uneasy melancholy fills the air — the birds are chirping, but the sounds are not quite right. The viewer pauses and questions the reality Peck has created, as well as one’s own. Themes of hope, despair, mystery, nostalgia, love and death recur throughout Peck’s work alongside motifs of dreams, big-eyed animals, natural landscapes,doe-eyed children, royalty and peasantry. With references ranging from Pieter Bruegel to Holly Hobbie, Marion Peck mines the depths of art history, popular culture and the human experience for her meticulous scenes. While peasants dance in a painting of the same name, their son leers at a corralled ass while the evening’s dinner runs around with its head cut off. In her painting “F*ck You,” a nod to François Gérard’s 1804 “Portrait de Mme Tallien,” an elegant royal is anything but, as she tells us how she really feels. Peck looks beyond the subconscious, reminding us that the waking world is never quite as it seems. And with her dark sense of humor and irrepressible optimism, she assures us that while life can be ominous, tragic, even deceptive, it is also beautiful, magical and alive with hope. $29.95, Hardcover, 128 pages, published by Last Gasp, Language: English, ISBN-13:978-0867197419, Product Dimensions: 11.7 x 9.3 x 0.5 inches.

“Topless Summer Love Girls” is a zany, pop culture commentary on growing up male in the era of Playboy, feminism, and swimsuit editions. Arming men with new insights into themselves and the eternal battle between the sexes, this hilarious and sexy book filled with hundreds of titillating photos of half-naked women is a passionate and unapologetic examination of men, women, and breasts.

Come join author Leslie Cabaraga – and enjoy live Western Swing music from Will Ryan and the Cactus County Cowboys – see the Controversial Port-O-Bra and burlesque by Eliza Bane plus free beer and margaritas!

“Topless Summer Love Girls” is a serious mix of satire, outrageous assertions, outright lies and intelligent, sensitive, searching observations on men, women, and breasts. It s a men s empowerment book for men who would never ever pick up a men s empowerment book and who are not afraid to laugh at themselves.

“Topless Summer Love Girls” contains not only page-after-page of sumptuous color photos of topless girls sunning themselves on the beaches of Spain and the South of France, but it’s got excellent advice for men on dating and making the best choice in women, sexual relationships with women and women’s wiles, warnings about marriage, fatherhood, and divorce; and what every man should know about feminism. In short, it’s got everything a modern guy needs to survive love in the 21st Century.

Joe Sorren‘s oil paintings redefine traditional naturalist scenery such as caves, reefs, and seashores, inserting a surreal mood through soft but eerie imagery, thick Impressionist- inspired brushstrokes, and childlike, yet animalistic, figures caught in mid-motion. The new gothic sentiment is subtly imbued in pale hued paintings that feature organic and distorted forms with exaggerated heads springing out of gelatinous blobs. Although the subjects are often childlike, the postures and weariness betray adult maturity, drawing a fine line between the vulnerable and precocious. Bulls and minotaurs parade guiltily with parasols and umbrellas through both Sorren’s original paintings and the sculptures created in collaboration with Jud Bergeron. This monograph of work from 2004-2010 is published in conjunction with the exhibition “Joe Sorren: Interruption” for the Grand Central Art Center at California State University, Fullerton. Sorren’s artwork has appeared in numerous publications, including The New Yorker, Time, and Rolling Stone, and has been featured by Warner Bros. and Atlantic Records.